The commission released a 500-page report 23 November 2011, which took 9,000 testimonies, offered an extensive chronology of events, documented 46 deaths, 559 allegations of torture, and more than 4,000 cases of employees dismissed for participating in protests.
[3]: 405 The report confirmed the Bahraini government's use of systematic torture and other forms of physical and psychological abuse on detainees, as well as other human rights violations.
[8] The BICI is chaired by Professor M. Cherif Bassiouni who has led United Nations investigations into alleged war crimes in Bosnia and Libya.
The four other members are Sir Nigel S. Rodley, a former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and currently a member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee; Justice Philippe Kirsch, a former judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC); Dr Mahnoush Arsanjani, a former UN legal advisor; and Dr Badria al 'Awadhi, an expert on international and Sharia law at the Freedom House Foundation in Washington, D.C. On 7 September 2011 the BICI invited Dr Sondra Crosby, an expert on hunger strikes, to join its team in order to monitor those prisoners on hunger strike in the Kingdom.
"[10] White House Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner welcomed the announcement of the establishment of the commission on 1 July 2011, adding that it was a "step in the right direction".
[11] In the United Kingdom, Minister for the Middle East and North Africa Alistair Burt said: "We welcome the establishment today by His Majesty the King of an independent commission, composed of international figures, to look into the events of recent months and into allegations of abuses of human rights.
It is our hope that this promising and significant step will lead to concrete progress in addressing the recent serious concerns about the human rights situation in Bahrain, reiterated by the Foreign Secretary yesterday.
"[13] EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton said on 1 July 2011 that the "establishment of an independent commission, composed of international members, to investigate the origins, causes and facts behind the many allegations of human rights violations in recent months in Bahrain.
I expect the independent commission to be in a position to carry out its work freely and thoroughly and I look forward to its final report due to be released at the end of October 2011.
The head of the Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society Faisal Fulad, who was implicated in the Bandargate scandal,[26] believe that the continued attempts to discredit the BICI are part of a concerted campaign by the opposition to delegitimise the commission's findings.
According to a statement released by the BICI on 15 August, individuals "yelled insults, posted threatening messages on the office walls, sent threats via text and email, and even physically shoved and spat at a member of staff".
Individuals also continued to photograph and video record people in the office, despite advice from staff that such actions undermine the confidentiality and safety of the many witnesses and victims coming forward.
[34] Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission, put pressure "upon all sides in Bahrain to do their utmost to implement the recommendations of the report, in a timely and complete fashion"[35] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called "on the government to ensure the implementation of its recommendations as a meaningful step in addressing serious allegations of human rights violations".